The Stars Will Cry The Blackest Tears Tonight
Disclaimer: Nope, unfortunately I'm not J.K. Rowling, nor do I own Harry Potter (though, I wish I did).
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Ding-dong. James was doing his potions homework as the doorbell rang. 'Who the bloody hell rings the doorbell of someone else's house at eleven o'clock?!' he asked himself. Then, suddenly, he froze with only one thought in his head. Death Eaters. He grabbed his wand and ran downstairs. It was pitch black, his parents had already gone to sleep. He could hear the heavy raindrops falling over the house. Not bothering to turn on the lights, he walked quietly toward the door. He looked through the peephole and he froze as he saw a dark figure lying there. He recognized who it was immediately. Sirius. For a brief, chilling moment James thought was dead, but the he noticed Sirius was shaking and shivering on the wet ground. He flung open the door and knelt beside Sirius, not caring if he got soaking wet. The rain was freezing cold and it soaked through him like icicles were piercing his skin. He tentatively reached out and touched Sirius, who twitched slightly.
"Sirius?" James whispered, lost for words. He looked absolutely terrible. There was blood on the floor around him and his arm was bent at a strange angle.
"James." Sirius said hoarsely, recognizing his voice.
"Shh." James pulled his head onto his lap and examined the deep gashes there. One on his forehead and an even worse one across his right cheek, which was bleeding mercilessly. There was a huge bruise on the left side of his face and his lip was split. The tears of pain were mixed with rain on his face. James felt tears burning in his own eyes at the sight of Sirius like this. His best friend...no, his brother. 'Please let him be okay, please let him be okay.' he repeated over and over again in his head.
"Listen...I-I'm gonna take you inside okay? We'll fix you up...don't worry. Just...hang on Sirius, hang on. Please." he added, voice shaking.
He felt Sirius nod as he took him into his arms, his head resting limply against his shoulder. The house was comfortingly warm compared to the chilling rain outside. He flicked on the lights and he saw Sirius squeeze his eyes shut against it he quickly turned it off again, whispering, "Sorry."
Sirius was light...too light. It wasn't normal for a boy of his age. James lay him down on the sofa and knelt beside him once again, stroking the sweat and blood-streaked hair out of his eyes.
"I'm gonna call Milly, okay? She'll fix you up." said James, still trying to gain control of his wavering voice. Molly was their house elf.
Sirius nodded his head ever so slightly.
"Milly!" called James, quietly.
Milly appeared with a small crack. "Master James called?" she squeaked.
"Master Sirius!" she said delightfully. She stopped abruptly when she saw his condition. "Oh, but you is hurt, Master Sirius!" her big eyes became even rounder, if that was possible.
"Yes, he is. Very badly. Can you fix him up, Milly?"
"Of course I is going to fix Master Sirius up!" she squeaked, determinedly.
"Good girl, Milly." said James praised and smiled gratefully at her as she beamed.
It took about and hour for Milly to heal Sirius to the best of her abilities. James sat by him the whole time, holding his hand comfortingly. By the time Milly was done, his broken arm was mended and most of his major injuries were healed. She had also given them some dreamless sleeping potion, just in case Sirius would need it.
"Thank you so much, Milly." said Sirius, voice still hoarse. He smiled weakly at him.
"It is no problem, Master Sirius. But you is needing rest now. You is still very weak." she informed him.
"I will, Milly. Now you go back to sleep. I'm sorry you had to wake up because of me." Sirius told her.
"You is not needing to be sorry, Master Sirius. Good night, Master James and Master Sirius." and with that she disappeared.
"Come on, let's get you upstairs." said James softly.
The went up to James' room, Sirius leaning heavily on him. James walked over to his closet and pulled out a pair of pajamas for Sirius to wear.
"You need a bath, mate." James informed Sirius, whose face was streaked with mud, dirt, sweat, and blood.
"Come on, Padfoot." He led Sirius to his bathroom and turned on the warm water. He put a clean towel over the rack along with his pajamas for Sirius.
"Call me if you need anything, alright, mate? I'll be right outside." said James.
Sirius nodded. "Thanks." he croaked.
"No problem, Siri." James smiled warmly at him. He walked out and closed the door, collapsing against the other side of it. He felt a ripple of sheer fury go through his body at the thought of the wounds and injuries Sirius had acquired. Who would be so cruel? Who would do such a thing? Death Eaters? A shiver ran down his spine. He certainly hoped not. But then there was only one option left: his family. 'Oh, Merlin, no. How could they do that? He's their own son!' he closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to control the anger inside him. He would love to go murder Sirius' family right now. He shook his head vigorously. Since when had he become so brutal? Suddenly the door he was leaning on opened, and he fell backwards onto the cold bathroom floor.
"Ouch!" he sat up again, rubbing his head.
Sirius smiled the first true smile that night. "Sorry, Prongs. When you said you'd be right outside, I didn't think you meant it literally." he said, though there was a tiny trace of amusement behind his eyes, which James was glad to see.
James smiled back at him. "Come here." He slung an arm around Sirius' neck and led him to the bed. He threw the covers back.
"Get in." he said.
Sirius shook his head. "No, it's your bed. I'll sleep on the floor."
"Are you kidding? You need it way more then I do! Take it, Siri."
Sirius sighed and got into the bed, leaning against the headboard. James sat down beside him, watching him with concern in his hazel eyes. It was rare to see Sirius like this, so vulnerable and weak. Usually he did such a good job of hiding his emotions. But then again, he was always much more open with James then with anyone else.
"Sirius...who did this to you? What happened?" asked James gently.
Sirius looked up at him with haunted grey eyes, eyes that were angry, full of hurt and pain. He took a deep breath and began,
"It was my parents, James. I dunno...everything was just going as it usually did in the summer. I was confined to my room with only a little food and blah blah blah but then...then they called me downstairs. My parents. They took me to the kitchen and sat me down at the table. They...they stared to lecture me about how I chose the wrong friends and how I was such a disgrace to the family and all that other crap. But then, they started to talk about Voldemort. They told me that they wanted me to join him...like...like R-Regulus." Sirius broke off and looked down at his clasped hands in his lap.
James gasped inwardly. He never liked Regulus very much, but he never imagined that he would become a Death Eater.
"I-I said that I would never join him...and...m-my father...he used the C-Cruciatus Curse on me, saying that it should...loosen m-my tongue. A-After that I just ran. As far as I could...anywhere I could...I just needed to get away from them. I ran for miles and miles and I just...sort of wound up at your door, J-James."
James watched helplessly as Sirius squeezed his eyes shut against the tears threatening to fall. His attempts failed, and a lone tear slid down his cheek. James pulled Sirius into his arms, allowing him to cry into his shoulder. His thin body shook with suppressed sobs as he clutched James as though he were his lifeline. And in a way he was. He didn't know how long it had been before Sirius pulled back. He jumped up suddenly and ran to the bathroom. James hurried after him, rubbing comforting circles on his back, and holding his long hair away from his face as he retched into the toilet.
"Shh. It's okay Sirius...it'll be alright." He murmured soothingly, trying to calm Sirius. He hated seeing him like this, in so much pain. Sirius wiped his tears with his sleeve, washed his face and quickly brushed his teeth. He then turned back to James.
"I'm sorry, James. He's my brother." he said hoarsely.
"It's okay, Padfoot, it's okay."
"Thank you." Sirius whispered. His family were causing a huge wound to form in his heart, but at the same time, having James here with him meant the world to him. "For everything."
"Anytime, Sirius." replied James.
They went back to James' room and Sirius turned his gaze towards the window. "The stars are gone." he said, frowning.
"Because they're crying the blackest tears for their brightest star. When their brightest star goes out, so do they. But look at that...you're not out yet. You're still shining, as bright as ever. You'll never go out, Sirius."
Sirius just smiled sadly.
They sat in silence after that, each dealing with their own thoughts and emotions. Finally, they both fell asleep, Sirius laying down on the pillow and James curled up at the foot of the bed.
The stars have cried the blackest tears tonight.
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Author's Note: The end! I hope you liked it, 'cause I sure enjoyed writing it! The title of the story comes from the song, Anthem Of Our Dying Day by Story of the Year.
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